I wanted to share this photo that I love of my grandpa, Jack W. Smith,  at age 13.   He is such a great man of character and I still today see this same little boy in his face. I think that is why I love it so much.  It is a great reminder that you grow old and grow up but you can still hold on to those child-like qualities that make life simple and light-hearted.  Love you paw paw!

So I took a little drive to Guymon, my home town and the location of my parents, to hang out for the weekend.  My uncle and little (I believe he is 9) cousin Christopher are visiting from Midland Tx.  to hang out and take care of some business.  This is my uncle Dave who is my dad's younger brother and who is also part of the reason I am doing art.  Once upon a time he gave me a collection of "Draw 50" books that fueled the fire.  I thought more on the way home about an idea I have wanted to do that is a series of drawings of symbols that have seemed to find their way into my life.  Instead of simply drawing them I would do a series of progressive drawings as if to show how to draw the image step-by-step, just as in the Draw 50 books.  I plan on dabbling with that more later.  Anyway, I also had time to think a lot about future plans to start an Art Collaborative space and of doing a lead sculpture of 2-dimensional mixed media piece I did a few years ago called "Hope is for the Birds."  It is nice to have ideas continually flowing.  It would be even better if I had time to actually execute them.  Soon and very soon.  Here' s an image of the piece I just mentioned.  Anyway, Christopher is such a creative kid so I am looking forward to spending time with him.  Maybe I can be to him what his dad is to me.

NEW SHIRT DESIGN!

So with the help of my good friend Dylan Bradway, I have come up with a modified version of my logo that will be printed on shirts and out within the next couple of weeks at Blue 7 at May and Grande and DNA Galleries on 16th and Classen in the Plaza District.   The image will be printed on American Apparel tri-orchid, tri-evergreen, seafoam and heather grey deep v and on light blue and slate scarfs.  I am excited to get this new image out and soon after will have the updates to my website and my new store started up at bigcartel.com!  Don't forget to check out new work added to my website form the Mainsite show at jerrodcreates.com.  

Showing at DNA Galleries!

So my good friends Dylan and Amanda Bradway asked if I would have work at their space DNA Galleries for the monthly walk in the Plaza District.  I hope lots of people come out to support them.  The work I am showing is large prints of older pieces so this is your chance to get work for a great price.  See you all there!

Emergent show follow up

The Emergent Show Opening at Mainsite Gallery on December 13th went great!  The walk in Norman was going on, so despite the cold there was a great crowd.  The show runs until January 31st so be sure to check out my work and the other artists work before the show comes down.  I have really enjoyed were the work for this show has taken me and I have big plans for upcoming work. In order to begin that work I am really hoping people will check out my newly revamped website that will feature new merchandise, including new t-shirts, scarfs, prints and more.  For now be sure to go to the website and look around at past work and check out my store as it is now.  There is also a link to the Mainsite website which tells more about the show I was involved in and others to come.  This is such a great space so if you have not checked it out you need too!  Happy Holidays!

quick update

Well I have been working non-stop preparing for the upcoming show at Mainsite in Norman on Dec. 5th.  I am attempting a lot of processes I have never tried before such as lead casting, glass casting and lost wax mold making.  I have had successes and failures but am learning daily!  I hope to have some images posted of me working in my studio on recent work and the beginnings of future work.  Please subscribe to my blog and I will attempt to do a better job to fill you all in on my process and where I am at with all of this and take the time to check out my website and purchase merchandise on my online store for the holiday!  Thanks for supporting me!

The beginning...

It seems so crazy to me that you can know so much about someone you have never met.  That is how I perceive blogging and oddly enough, something about that is attractive.  In past artwork I have used old photos of people I will never get to meet because they are long gone.  I will never have the chance to hear there stories, experience their pain or laugh at their jokes.  This is the exact opposite.  The people who read this will get to experience me before they get to fabricate their own stories. Everything is based on a truth.  

I will try my best to expose the thoughts behind my artwork and keep those who read up to date with pieces and projects I have going on.  I have a hard time writing and speaking about my work, especially face to face with people.  Hopefully this will be a way to really dig inside myself and write clearly about what my work means to me.  So this is the beginning...